Number of syphilis cases up by 23 percent in 2014

According to the Public Health Office (UVZ), the number of cases of the infection has been increasing over the past decade. Syphilis cases were reported across Slovakia, with the disease most prevalent in Bratislava and Košice regions, the TASR newswire reported

“Six children under 15 were diagnosed with syphilis, too, including a baby who was born with the disease in Trebišov district [Košice Region],” reads the report on the health of Slovak citizens.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection with an incubation period of between one to three weeks. If left untreated, the infection can progress to a secondary stage in which the symptoms most commonly involve problems of the skin, lymph nodes and mucous membranes.